FDA approves opioid analgesic to help cancer patients manage pain

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Abstral (fentanyl) transmucosal tablets to manage breakthrough pain for adults with cancer. Fentanyl immediate-release transmucosal medications are administered on the soft surfaces of the mouth (inside of the cheek, gums, tongue), or the nasal passages or throat where they dissolve and are absorbed.

“This is an important step for patients with cancer pain to have options for the treatment of their breakthrough pain,” said John Jenkins, M.D., director of FDA’s Office of New Drugs in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Abstral is indicated for the management of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer, ages 18 years and older, who already use opioid pain medication around the clock and who need and are able to safely use high doses of an additional opioid medicine. Breakthrough pain is pain that comes on suddenly for short periods of time and is not alleviated by a patient’s normal pain management plan. These patients are considered opioid tolerant because of their current opioid medication use. Only health care professionals skilled in the use of Schedule II opioids to treat pain should prescribe this drug product.

Abstral is available only through a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program, which is intended to minimize the risk of misuse, abuse, addiction and overdose. Under this program, pharmacies, distributors, and health care professionals who prescribe to outpatients are required to enroll in the program to prescribe, dispense and distribute this product. FDA has standardized key components of the REMS program to facilitate the adoption of a single shared system. These components include the REMS document, the Patient-Prescriber Agreement, and the enrollment form. These components can be used by all sponsors of immediate release transmucosal fentanyl products to develop individual REMS programs such as the program approved for Abstral. FDA has also directed the sponsors of this class of products to work together on a single shared system to implement the REMS.

“This approval is also a significant step toward reducing the burden on the health care system of implementing REMS programs,” added Dr. Jenkins. “When fully implemented, FDA expects that prescribers, pharmacies, and distributors of all immediate release transmucosal fentanyl products will be able to use standardized materials and a single shared system to implement the REMS.”

The safety of Abstral was evaluated in 311 opioid-tolerant cancer patients with breakthrough pain. Two hundred and seventy of these patients were treated in multiple-dose studies. The duration of therapy for patients in multiple-dose studies ranged from 1-405 days with an average duration of 131 days and with 44 patients treated for at least 12 months.

Common adverse reactions include nausea, constipation, drowsiness and headache. Serious adverse events, including deaths, have been reported in patients with other immediate-release transmucosal fentanyl products. The deaths occurred as a result of improper patient selection and/or improper dosing.

Consumers and health care professionals are encouraged to report adverse side effects or medication errors from the use of Abstral to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program at www.fda.gov/MedWatch or by calling 800-332-1088.